Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

Some time ago it was made known that Guillermo Del Toro was working on a Frankenstein film for Universal.
Guillermo Del Toro is producing a remake/reboot of Van Helsing for Universal along with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
Guillermo Del Toro recently made Pacific Rim with Legendary Pictures, a partnership Del Toro seems to have loved.
Guillermo Del Toro has a decent relationship with both of them.
Tom Cruise, who was set to star in Del Toro's At The Mountains of Madness was connected to the remake/reboot of Van Helsing.
When Legendary Pictures broke away from Warner Bros., I predicted that Legendary would partner with Universal. This came true.
Legendary's first project with Universal is the upcoming Dracula Untold.
I predicted what all of this meant: that Universal is going to try and revive their classic monsters in a single cinematic universe, similar to what Marvel Studios has done.

There's an interesting thing that could happen at Universal where they have this amazing library of their old monsters and these kinds of heroes, and the idea of trying to create a universe.

Both Pacific Rim and Crimson Peak were made with Legendary Pictures, and del Toro looks to have found a solid fit for his genre material with the production studio, which is now housed at Universal Pictures. Given that Universal holds all the rights to the classic monsters, del Toro was asked on set if he’s been thinking about diving into some of those properties:

“I would love to. I mean, look, I would love to do Frankenstein and Bride, or Frankenstein for sure, but it really, Frankenstein has been—I’ve been really, really, afraid. Donna [Langley] has approached me a few times to start it now and I’m always like, you know, it’s like the dream project so I’m a little, I’m a chicken shit, you know? When I do it, I need to do it. Like, if I do Frankenstein, I literally would stop everything, and I’m going to a sabbatical of three years, just to write that. It’s not something that’s gonna just flow, like second nature. It’s my favorite book in history. [Laughs]”

“I think that it’s a great universe to develop. I personally think that they should all be period movies. I would love to see Creature from the Black Lagoon in Victorian England with the Victorian exploration, with a balloon and steam riverboats. I would love to see The Hunchback, Phantom, you know?”

Re: Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

On the cinematic side, what’s front and center on your plate, right now?

KURTZMAN: Front and center right now is Chris Morgan and I working on getting The Mummy off the ground and building up our Monster Universe. That’s where I’m spending my time. And working with Drew Goddard on Sinister Six.

Guillermo del Toro has always loved Frankenstein. Would you want to get him involved, in some way?

KURTZMAN: Nothing would make us happier. We’re only at the beginning exploratory phase of all of it, but I’m a crazy huge Guillermo del Toro fan. So, anything he wants to be involved in, we’d be honored.

What is your big picture view of the Monster Universe that you’re working on?

KURTZMAN: I think it’s incredibly important to all of us to start focusing on each movie, and make each movie great, rather than thinking, “Okay, we want to do The Avengers next.” If that comes along, it will come along organically. When I was a kid, going to Universal Studios, which was all I wanted to do, all the time, there was a show that was all the monsters, and I loved that show. I was obsessed with Dracula. I was obsessed with Frankenstein. I was obsessed with the Wolfman. This guy used to get stretched on a rack, live and in front of the audience. It was so cool. It’s very exciting. It’s like being a kid in a candy store, getting to play with all those things again, at the very studio that birthed these monsters, in the first place. Most importantly, we’re really wanting to just do each one right. I think the world will come to us, if we build them correctly.

Is there a lesser one in the monster pantheon that you’re hoping to make an A-lister?

KURTZMAN: Some monsters will get their own movie. Other monsters will appear in other movies, as secondary characters. The balance of that is what we’re working out right now.

BREAKING:
Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, and Brian Grazer have acquired rights to Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles in a juicy deal that spans the entire library of Rice’s bloodsucker series.

Rice’s Vampire Chronicles novels are centered around 18th century French nobleman vamp Lestat de Lioncourt and previously spawned feature adaptations Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned at rival Warner Bros. The deal gives Universal and Imagine access to the entire Vampire Chronicle series as well as the adapted screenplay for Tale of the Body Thief by Rice’s son Christopher Rice and any future novels including the upcoming 11th book Prince Lestat.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are developing classic monster flicks The Mummy and Van Helsing for the studio, will produce. Imagine President Erica Huggins will oversee the series on behalf of the company and Bobby Cohen will exec produce. Anne Rice is repped by CAA, Janklow & Nesbit Associates and attorney Christine Cuddy of Kleinberg, Lange, Cuddy & Carlo LLP. Christopher Rice is repped by Resolution, Janklow & Nesbit Associates and attorney Christine Cuddy of Kleinberg, Lange, Cuddy & Carlo LLP. Kurtzman and Orci are repped by CAA and Gendler & Kelly, APC.

Re: Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

As Disney, Fox, Sony and Warner Bros. plant flags on comicbook movies that will unspool in theaters through 2020, Universal honcho Jeff Shell and movie chief Donna Langley find themselves with few options other than to cull their studio’s library and secure outside properties that are established brands, and thus easily marketable. Its only comicbook-based superhero property is Marvel’s “Namor: The Sub-Mariner,” to which it has retained rights since 2006.

“The trend (in Hollywood) is franchise movies, and building movies around a character people want to come back and see over and over again,” says Erica Huggins, president of Imagine Entertainment, who was instrumental in acquiring the Anne Rice books.

The studio will position its classic monsters as the next action stars, the way it did with “The Mummy” franchise and attempted with “Van Helsing.” “Universal’s legacy is built on our iconic monster mythology,” says co-president of production Jeffrey Kirschenbaum. “We are committed to revitalizing these films to make them part of a powerhouse action-thriller franchise, and develop worlds for these characters to thrive in.”

“What Donna and Jeff are envisioning about the Universal monster legacy is the most strategic, and ambitious undertaking since Carl Laemmle created these historic characters for the screen,” says Sean Daniel, who produced Universal’s more recent “Mummy” movies and will return for the reboot, as well as the upcoming remake of “Ben Hur.”

Re: Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

EXCLUSIVE: Despite a lack of superheroes, Universal Pictures continues to bolster its franchises. The studio is going hard to revive its classic monsters franchises–I’m hearing that Prisoners scribe Aaron Guzikowski is being courted to get the Wolf Man howling again, after Uni rebooted The Mummy

Noah Hawley, the creator of the Fargo television series, Aaron Guzikowski, the scribe behind the gritty Hugh Jackman-Jake Gyllenhaal movie Prisoners, and Ed Solomon, the veteran screenwriter behind Men in Black and Now You See Me, have joined Chris Morgan and Alex Kurtzman to act as a writers collective of Universal Studios' cinematic monster universe.

The plan is for these "Monster Men" to act akin to Pixar's brain trust, or more aptly, like a well-oiled television writer's room, where all will have a hand in each other's movies and offer help as needed as they work on a model of serialized storytelling.

As part of the move, Guzikowski will take the lead writing The Wolfman, a new take on the classic werewolf tale that will hopefully re-launch a franchise and also weave in with the movies of the other monster characters. Hawley and Solomon have yet to take point on projects as the plan is still unfolding.

Morgan and Kurtzman, notable scribes in their own right, are producing the monster movies.

The Mummy will be the first movie out of the monster universe gate, with Kurtzman behind the camera and a June 24, 2015 release date. Other planned movies revolve around the characters of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein and vampire hunter Van Helsing.

It’s not clear what the order for the movies will be nor what stages of development the projects are in, although Universal has staked out Friday, April 21, 2017, for its second monster franchise film.

Wolfman is one of the studio’s legacy characters. His first screen appearance was in 1941’s The Wolf Man, directed by George Waggner with Lon Chaney Jr. as the man who is cursed to howl at the full moon and Claude Rains as his father.

Several lesser movies followed. The character made a splashy return in 2010 with Benicio Del Toro in the title role, Emily Blunt his love interest and Anthony Hopkins as his father. The pricey picture was plagued with production problems and whined its way to only a $61 million domestic tally.

Plot details for the revamp are being kept locked in a kennel.

Guzikowski also wrote Contraband, the hit action movie starring Mark Wahlberg that Universal distributed. He is in production of season two of his Sundance channel show The Red Road, which he created and that stars Jason Momoa.

Re: Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

If you’re worried about the recent influx and potential resulting unwieldiness of shared movie universes, you’re not alone. “Guardians of the Galaxy” writer-director James Gunn is just as concerned.

Gunn took to Facebook to voice his skepticism about studios “trying to grow franchises from non-existent films or middling successes.”

“Listen, I love big (a–) shared universes in movies, as well as huge franchises,” he wrote in a Facebook post titled “Carts Before Horses & Hollywood’s New Love of Shared Universes.” “But I’m a little worried about the numerous shared universes being planned by the studios, without having a strong base film to grow from — or in some cases, NO base film to grow from.”

The director implies that franchises like “Star Wars,” “Iron Man,” “The Dark Knight” and even “Transformers” and “Twilight” are in the clear because they were conceived as single films and only grew into movie series following audience demand.

“But these days studios are trying to grow trees without a strong seed,” he wrote. “Execs and producers and sometimes even directors are focused on the big picture, without perfecting the task directly in front of them — making a great movie.”

With Marvel, Warner Bros. and Universal planning movies a decade in advance, and studios bringing movie worlds into the TV realm, the forest is denser than ever.

“In short, I think this new business model is flawed,” he continued. “I think filmmakers and studios should be prepared for the big picture, but never, ever let it get in the way of making a single great film. Be a little more experimental and see what works as opposed to trying to force success.”

“Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” which follows the surprising success of “Guardians of the Galaxy” — the year’s highest grossing domestic film — hits theaters on May 5, 2017.

The Mummy, the movie that was meant to kick off Universal’s new monster universe, has been pushed back from June 24, 2016 to March 24, 2017.

The move has created a ripple effect, as the studio's second monster movie, an untitled project, was to have opened April 21, 2017, but now is slotted for March 30, 2018.

Among other changes announced following the presentation: Universal also is pushing back Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim 2 from April 7, 2017, to August 4 of that year, while Warcraft has been moved from March 11, 2016, to June 10, 2016.

Universal already had a type of monster movie slated to open in March 2017: its launch of a King Kong franchise. Kong: Skull Island is due out March 10, 2017. Already opening on March 17, 2017, is Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast.

Re: Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 writer Jeff Pinkner has been brought on to rewrite Universal’s CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON. Akiva Goldsman is overseeing the project for Universal.

Given his credits, Pinkner seems well-suited to the task of resurrecting the sci-fi horror classic. Pinkner was a showrunner for ABC’s cult sci-fi series Fringe, and he’s currently adapting Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. He’s also one of a dozen writers involved in Paramount’s Transformers writers’ room experiment, having recently submitted a treatment for Transformers 5, and serves as a showrunner for CBS’ summer series Zoo.

Universal is resurrecting The Mummy as the kickoff to its planned monsters universe. But when it hits theaters (it's slated for March 24, 2017), there could be one noticeable change from director Alex Kurtzman and writer Jon Spaihts: The Mummy may be female, with a unique backstory.

In the 1932 original and the 1999 remake, the monster was male, played by Boris Karloff and Arnold Vosloo, respectively. Sources say the gender of the monster in the new film, which is set in the modern day, likely will depend on casting, expected to happen in the next couple of months. There are two story options — one that would feature a female monster, and one that would feature a male.

Universal's The Mummy is planned as the first film in a series of interconnected monster films as Universal hopes to build a franchise out of its vault of classic movies. Other potential films revolve around the characters of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, the Bride of Frankenstein and vampire hunter Van Helsing.

Re: Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

I'm really getting tired of Gender swapping for characters. They did it in the Robocop Remake and reciently Ghostbusters with a lot of backlash from Fans. If they want more strong female roles (rightly so) why not make origional characters? Like they used to do.

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them."
-John Wayne (The Shootist)

Universal's monsters universe seems to be forming in reverse fashion. Instead of scribes being hired to spitball ideas for movies with the Mummy, Dracula and Wolfman, each of the writers — including Noah Hawley (FX's Fargo), Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners) and Ed Solomon (Now You See Me) — was assigned a specific script to write, and all of them will be overseen by franchise keepers Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan. The writers have offices on the lot and meet periodically as a group, say sources. The hope is that by giving each of them his (or her) own script, clear boundaries will be established for credits.

At a time when other studios are furiously raiding the vaults of comic books and graphic novels, trying to find the next Marvel and DC Comics, Universal is deviating from the superhero movie playbook — at the same time it mimics some of its strategies.

The studio has tapped Alex Kurtzman (“Transformers”) and Chris Morgan (“Furious 7”) to revive the monsters that were the studio’s stock in trade during the golden age of Hollywood. Together, they’re overseeing a team that’s busy mixing in elements of those classic films, such as the bolts in Frankenstein’s neck, with a modern setting tied to contemporary themes.

“This is not a heightened world,” Morgan says. “We’re exploring issues of family identity and questions of, ‘Where do I belong in the world?’ ”

The films are taking a page from Marvel in certain ways, however. Just as the comic book label launched its onscreen group of heroes in interconnected films before teaming them in one big superstream adventure with “The Avengers,” Universal is planning to create a shared universe for its creatures. “The characters will interact with each other across movies,” says Donna Langley, chair of Universal Pictures. “We’re incubating it at the moment, and we’re taking the time to get it right.”

The plan is for a new monster movie to come out every year. The first of these, based on the character of the Mummy, will begin shooting in early 2016, with other pictures centered on Dracula, Van Helsing, Bride of Frankenstein and the Wolfman following in short order. To prepare, Kurtzman and Morgan obsessively watched Universal monster films made with the likes of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, and to broaden the sense of genre, augmented that with a diet of Hammer Horror pictures and other creepy works.

“We’re creating a mythology, so we’re looking at this canon and thinking, ‘What are the rules?’ ” Kurtzman says. “What can we break and what are the ones that are untouchable?”

Storyboard artists and designers are creating the look and feel of the various productions, and each of the 10 writers working on the project has been assigned a monster to oversee.

“The idea is that we have a deep bench of brains to consult with about how their monster fits into our world as we go forward,” Kurtzman explains.

To head its team, Universal brass has found two self-confessed horror geeks who credit pictures like “Dracula” and “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” with inspiring their love of film.

“I was raised on monster movies,” Morgan says. “I used to make my own fake puke, so I wouldn’t have to go to school and could stay home and watch things like ‘Cat People’ on TV. I can still tell you what I used — orange juice, Saltines, Pepsi and milk.”

Both men think that after more than a decade of seeing Captain America, Batman and other heroes routinely save civilization, moviegoers are ready for a change of pace.

“Heroes tend to be perfect, but most people in an audience aren’t ever going to know what it’s like to be the smartest, strongest or fastest person alive,” Morgan says. “But there’s a darkness inside everybody. And everyone wants to be able to turn a curse into empowerment. The monsters have been in the shadows, and now it’s time to bring them out into the light.”

Re: Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

We have written about our trepidation over Universal’s plans to revive their classic monsters several times now. Sure, the “shared universe” approach works wonders for the likes of Marvel, but is it really the right way to approach classic characters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Mummy? Do we need Van Helsing to brush shoulders with the Creature from the Black Lagoon? Will he have to endure jokes about Samuel L. Jackson showing up after the credits to recruit the monsters for a secret team? It’s enough to cause Universal monster fans to break out in an icy sweat.

But enough of that for now. These movies are happening! And while The Mummy is happening first, it looks like The Wolf Man reboot will be next in line. It has a release date and everything.

According to JoBlo, The Wolf Man will open on March 30, 2018. That’s approximately one year after The Mummy‘s March 24, 2017 release date. In other words, it looks like Universal knows that these characters probably can’t tussle with the superheroes and dinosaurs that usually populate the summer months, so they might as well try to own the spring instead. Why Universal is not pushing for their classic monsters to arrive in theaters close to Halloween is a question beyond our pay grade.

The screenplay for the new Wolf Man was written by Aaron Guzikowski, who is best known for writing the intense (if occasionally ludicrous) thriller Prisoners. Apparently, horror is his thing now since he’s just been hired to rewrite the next Friday the 13th movie.

Since director Alex Kurtzman and Universal are pursuing Tom Cruise to star in The Mummy, we imagine that they’ll also go after some big name talent for The Wolf Man. And they should: it’s one helluva part. All of the Universal monsters are tortured souls, but Larry Talbot is tragedy personified. Here is a good man who, despite resisting it with every fiber of his being, transforms into a monster when the moon is full and wreaks havoc, targeting anyone with a pulse. This is a part for a movie star.

It’s interesting that the first two films in Universal’s new monster universe revolve around characters that they’ve revived in relatively recent history. The Mummy was reimagined in 1999 as an Indiana Jones-esque action series and until the desperate and sad third movie, the franchise proved lucrative. And then there’s 2010’s The Wolfman, a noble misfire whose disastrous production is the stuff of legend. Although well-intentioned (it was a proper, classical horror movie by design) and perfectly cast (Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, and Hugo Weaving do everything they can), the film is is really just one-jaw-dropping disaster of a scene after another. Who can forget the grand climax, where two CGI werewolves punch each other for all kinds of stupid reasons? Or the scene where a CGI werewolf leaps from rooftop to rooftop like he’s Spider-Man?

Then again, the worst of the Mummy movies and The Wolfman have nothing on the embarrassing heap that is Van Helsing and Universal is also planning to reboot that as well.

With The Mummy arriving in 2017 and The Wolf Man in 2018, it is time to start pondering which character gets 2019. With scripts centering on Van Helsing, the Bride of Frankenstein, and the Invisible Man currently in the works, your guess is a good as ours.

Tom Cruise is in negotiations to star in the modern-day set movie that Alex Kurtzman is helming and Universal will release March 24, 2017. Jon Spaihts wrote the script, although plot details are being kept deep in the tomb. Kurtzman is producing with Chris Morgan and Sean Daniel.

Universal's The Mummy is planned as the first pic in a series of interconnected monster movies as the studio hopes to build a cinematic universe out of its vault of classic creature features. Other potential films revolve around the characters of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, the Bride of Frankenstein and vampire hunter Van Helsing.

A Universal spokesperson said the studio is not commenting on any casting speculation surrounding Mummy.

Re: Universal's Cinematic Monster Universe

David Koepp will write Universal’s remake of “Bride of Frankenstein” as the studio continues to make strides in forming its new monster universe.

The film is part of the studio’s endeavor to expand and unify a network of classic monsters led by narrative architects Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan.

Like so many of its current monster movies, plot details are under wraps. “Bride of Frankenstein” is set in the present day in order for the film’s characters to have cross-over capabilities with other monster movies.

Universal’s exec VP of production, Jon Mone, and VP of production, Jay Polidoro, will oversee the project for the studio.

Sources tells Variety that Universal wants to offer Angelina Jolie Pitt directing and starring gigs in “Bride of Frankenstein.” The studio has had their eye on Jolie Pitt for some time, but she will remain undecided on whether she takes on the project until a script is delivered.

Koepp’s relationship with Universal dates back to the 1990s when the studio assigned him the job of penning the first “Jurassic Park.” He has helped launched other major franchises since then, including “Mission: Impossible” and “Spider-Man” with Tobey Maguire.

Koepp most recently penned the next Robert Langdon pic, “Inferno,” which bows next fall with Tom Hanks returning to star as Langdon. He is repped by CAA, and Myman Greenspan Fineman Fox Rosenberg & Light LLP.

Van Helsing Returns To Universal's Classic Monsters Universe

Universal has hired Wrath of the Titans scribe Dan Mazeau to write the VAN HELSING reboot that is part of the studio’s classic monsters universe, the Tracking Board has exclusively learned.

As the architects of the universe, Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan will produce the film, though plot details remain under wraps somewhere in Transylvania.

Mazeau was part of Universal’s writers room for the monsters universe, which also included Noah Hawley (Legion), Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners) and Ed Solomon (Men in Black). His hiring isn’t exactly recent, as Van Helsing has been Mazeau’s baby since as far back as September, but his involvement had never been reported until now.

Oscar nominee Eric Heisserer (Arrival) and Jon Spaihts (Doctor Strange) previously worked on Van Helsing. Spaihts also co-wrote The Mummy, the Tom Cruise movie that kicks off the new monsters universe this summer.

The character of Van Helsing first appeared in Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a vampire hunter, though he also chased Frankenstein and the Wolf Man in the 2004 movie starring Hugh Jackman. The Invisible Man, the Bride of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde are also rumored to play parts in Universal’s monsters universe.

Guzikowski is currently running point on The Wolf Man, while David Koepp has been tasked with writing a present-day Bride of Frankenstein, though Kurtzman, Hawley and Jenny Lumet worked on earlier drafts. Angelina Jolie has been courted to direct the latter film, which like The Mummy, will be set in present-day.

Besides Wrath of the Titans, Mazeau has written Lunar Park for producers Tom Cruise, Doug Liman and Simon Kinberg, and rewrote the spy movie Section 6 for Universal. He also adapted the sci-fi novel Yukikaze for Warner Bros. and wrote a draft of the action-thriller World’s Most Wanted for Fast & Furious producer Neal Moritz.